Rockwood needs more taxes to fix decaying facilities

ROCKWOOD— Deteriorating parking lots, failing athletic facilities and stage curtains tearing at the seams are some of the deficiencies that exist at Rockwood Area School District.

At a special meeting in the high school auditorium Tuesday, acting Superintendent Mark Bower told taxpayers if the ballot question asking for a 3.6-mill tax increase fails, $700,000 in additional programs and maintenance concerns will be cut from the district’s $11 million budget.

When taxpayers go to the polls on April 22, they will be forced to weigh the quality of a Rockwood education against the limits of their personal budgets.

Combined with allowed state increases, taxpayers are facing a 5.35-mill increase. On average that would be about $130 more in property taxes for homeowners.

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“We have enough problems trying to heat our house,” said Rockwood taxpayers Mark and Ruth Knopsnyder. The Knopsnyders have two children who attend school at Rockwood.

Both said they came to the meeting to learn how the district fell into a financial crisis that left officials taking out $500,000 in loans. The loans prevented the district’s fund balance from dropping into the red.

After Bower explained the district’s 10-year financial history, Mark Knopsnyder said he felt better educated on the district’s finances.

“We are not putting on a fancy show or bringing cheerleaders out,” Bower said. “We want the taxpayers to be educated.”

Several taxpayers repeatedly questioned officials on how a $1 million fund balance in 2001 could shrink below zero without action.

Bower said officials acted on a five-year financial plan given to them by former Superintendent Vince Capricci, who resigned in June for medical reasons.

Capricci’s plan over-projected revenues and under-projected expenditures to a point where the district began spending about $230,000 more per year than it was taking in since the 2001-02 school year. The plan also included tax cuts.

Taxpayers criticized the financial blunder throughout the presentation, some even calling Capricci’s intent criminal.

“It’s not a crime,” district Solicitor Dan Rullo said. “It was a mistake. When a mistake is made you are faced with recouping.”

Officials have been working to recover for months.

Bower said they have been searching for ways the district could save money.

If the ballot question passes, Bower said, the district could restore technology, buy textbooks and classroom supplies and begin to restore the fund balance. The district’s fund balance is more than $180,000. That number includes the $500,000 in loans.

Other taxpayers were concerned about upcoming teacher contract negotiations. The board has tabled those talks until July.

The 2008-09 budget includes more than $6 million allocated to payroll.

Board member Dan Cramer said Bower did a good job presenting the facts of the crisis to the public.

“Now people have a better idea on how we got here,” he said.

If the taxpayers vote down the tax hike, Bower said, officials will not back down from the financial crisis.

“We will do the best we can to educate the kids,” he said. “We will not run away from the problem.”